


Fragments Of Yesterday

by EmeraldNorth



Category: Gintama
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dark, Alternate Universe - Magic, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-05 02:04:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14033778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeraldNorth/pseuds/EmeraldNorth
Summary: With nothing and nobody left in her empty house, Kagura decides to embark on a journey to fix her broken family. What starts off as a naïve dream slowly morphs into her involvement with the Edo underground scene and a clash of beliefs and ideologies.Eventual OkiKagu.Cross-posted from my FF.net





	1. The Girl Who Hates Violence But Loves To Fight

The young woman let her gaze sweep over the empty cottage once more, taking a deep breath. She savoured the familiar smell and let memories flood her mind one last time.

Memories of her laughing with her family, smiling, happy memories, and then the day of her mother's death and her father's depression, the day her brother left and now, today, the day she would leave as well.

A picture frame on a shelf caught her eye, a picture of her entire family, from when all of them were still in this old, wooden cottage.

Smiling, happy.

She went up to it and gently took it into her hands, letting her finger run over the dusty surface of it. Then she sadly shook her head and placed it back on the shelf, face-down.

She grabbed her umbrella and her travelling bag, hoisted it on her shoulder and walked out the door. The sound of the door falling close and the sun shining down on her made her rethink her decision, but she wouldn't let herself be swayed. Not anymore.

She had hesitated far too long, and it had only brought harm upon this world.

She opened her umbrella expertly with one hand, shielding herself from the imploring rays of sun.

One last glance at the surrounding green meadows she had grown up on made her heart clench slightly, but she ignored it.

Everybody else had left it behind, so it was time she did as well.

That cottage had stopped being 'home' a long time ago, after all.

* * *

Kagura wouldn't say that she had a plan, not really. It was more the urge to get away from the suffocating emptiness that her house had provided. Her father's equally empty promises to come back soon didn't really help and living in isolation got to everybody sooner or later.

The weight of her travelling bag on her shoulder seemed miniscule next to the heavy weight on her heart and the feeling of unease that was steadily growing.

Her first thought had been to find her father, but what would she do then? Join him on his bounty hunting missions?

Then she thought about her other still living family member. Her brother, Kamui.

She bit her lip while in deep thought, contemplating the idea over and over again. He wouldn't be happy to see her, she knew that much. But from what she had heard from one of the few times her father had actually come back, he'd gotten himself involved in some pretty nasty company.

Unfortunately, she didn't know much more than that.

After a long day of walking and thinking, she was just about ready to settle down on an old tree in order to sleep when an old farmer offered her to sleep in his barn. She thankfully accepted and helped out the farmer's wife in the kitchen to make up for her stay.

Eating together with the farmer, his wife and his two children brought a smile to her face, but at the same time it made her heart ache because it reminded her of what she didn't have.

They were the perfect picture of a family, a family she desperately found herself longing for.

The next day, she met a travelling merchant on the way to the next town and got some more supplies. He had asked what a young lady like her was doing out here, but she just shrugged and said she wasn't sure yet.

But somewhere, deep in her mind, a voice had already decided what to do.

She would find her idiotic brother and her idiotic father, she would find her family, fix it, and find a new place to call home.

* * *

The first step was easy: gather information. The best place for that? Shady bars.

She dumped her bag on the bed at the cheap inn she was staying at and got dressed and headed out, looking for the shadiest place she could find.

The few times she had been to a real town was with her parents when she was quite a bit younger, but all she could remember were the things she wasn't allowed and supposed to do. Don't be rude to the merchants, don't wander off on your own, don't go to the outskirts, don't talk to strangers and don't let go of Mami's hand.

A more recent incident in which her father took her out drinking in a low-profile bar in the outskirts would have to suffice as experience.

She sighed at the memory, pulling the hood she had been wearing the entire time further over her red hair and adjusting the goggles and bandages covering her face and entered the run-down, yet bustling, bar.

She didn't even seem that out of place with her cape and umbrella holster. At least every second person here had obscured their face in some kind of fashion, and equally as many had brought their weapons in. The bartender looked bored as he dried some glasses, not fazed a bit by the giant with a morning star that was chugging his beer.

She squeezed herself towards the counter with the bored looking man and ordered a drink. The bartender gave her a quick second glance before nodding and preparing her beverage.

The high stools were pretty uncomfortable, but she shouldn't have expected anything else, after all, she was squashed in between two probably-criminals with weapons as big as their bodies.

She tapped her bandaged fingers on the counter while waiting for the bartender to come back, slightly shifting her head every now and then, picking up parts of the conversations.

"… and then he just killed the guy in cold blood, before he could justify anything!"

"I swear, it was real! The monster was real!"

"… yeah, further north, you know? There's a treasure buried somewhere around there…"

"I heard the royal family was planning a trip, so I think we should rally the gang together…"

"That bounty hunter is over in Edo? Good thing you told me, I was just about to head there…"

"Edo's not what it used to be anymore, man… ever since those guys came…"

The sound of a glass being placed in front of her made her redirect her attention to the barkeeper. She nodded and pulled the bandages over her lower face down so that she could drink.

The bartender suddenly spoke up. "I didn't think I'd be seeing more of your kind around here."

Kagura paused and looked at the middle-aged man through her tinted goggles. "Why would you say that?"

She wasn't quite sure what he meant by that, but maybe it was just his standard ice-breaker to talk to customers.

He shrugged. "I thought all of you were down in Edo, at least that's what the last one said."

She hesitated slightly before taking a sip of her drink. The burn of the alcohol left a pleasant trail in the back of her throat, but she didn't have time to enjoy it. Did this man know of what race she was? He seemed pretty confident, but she couldn't be sure.

"Are you sure it was a…" She trailed off, fixating her gaze on him. She was sure he would catch on.

He nodded. "I don't know any other tribes that walk around with umbrellas all day." He gestured to the cone attached to her back.

She just took another sip to get a grip on her thoughts. Would her brother be in Edo? Would her father?

She had only been there once, but that must've been ten years ago, shortly before her mother died. And according to the conversations she had overheard just now, Edo had changed quite a bit. She remembered the part about the bounty hunter. Did it have something to do with Papi?

"True, true." She opted to answer. "But I didn't know there was some kind of meet up in Edo."

The man leaned against the counter. "Maybe you should go. Might be interesting." Then he brought his fingers to his chin and thought about something. "Or maybe not, it's not exactly the safest place to be right now."

"It isn't?" She prodded, hoping to get more information on Edo. If this had something to do with the Yato and bounty hunters, she might have just found the lead she had needed.

"No, lately there's been this new organization at the top over there. They call themselves the Harusame."

"Harusame." She tasted the word on her tongue. It wasn't very threatening, not awe-inspiring. A small part of her mind couldn't help but feel disappointed in the name choice. And yet, it still held some sort of weight to it.

"Yes. The have many Yato members from what I've heard." He excused himself for a short moment, taking care of another customer that had just come in, leaving Kagura alone with her drink and her thoughts.

Even if this had nothing to do with her family, it was still of importance. Her tribe was known for being good mercenaries and military force. And with an entire organization gathering the Yato? That couldn't mean anything good.

She took a big swig of her drink, nearly emptying it. She stared at the last sip in the glass, swishing it from side to side. Should she really go to Edo? Sure, it was her only viable lead right now, but did she really want to get involved with other Yato?

Not really.

"Oi, missy," a gruff voice said from her left. She turned to look at the Dakini who had spoken to her.

He nudged his head to the side. "Get moving, my boss wants that seat."

She glanced over at the imposing Amanto behind him and narrowed her eyes at him, not that he really saw it through her goggles. "Tell him to look for a seat somewhere else."

She wasn't going to give up her access to possibly valuable information.

"Tch." The guy clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Brats like you don't have the right to talk back to me."

Kagura downed the last bit of alcohol in her glass and slammed it back on the table, causing a few heads to turn towards her. So much for not attracting attention.

"What do you know about brats like me?" She asked him, a dangerous tone to her voice.

"Heh," he chuckled, "are you trying to act all tough now? Get out of the way, bitch." His hand moved towards his weapon, a big cylindrical block full of spikes, and wrapped his fingers around it.

"Please, sir, don't use that thing in here." The bartender spoke from behind her. He was smiling, but there was a threatening tone of authority under it.

The Dakini grimaced and lowered his hand from his weapon. "You're right, I don`t need this to take care of this little bitch."

His hand shot up towards her face at incredible speed and probably would have left behind irreparable damage had it actually made contact. His fist trembled in the tight hold her hand had around it, and she crushed his fist a bit further for good measure until she felt liquid seep through her bandages.

His eyes widened in horror as he realized that she had single-handedly blocked a full-powered punch without even flinching. Her face was obscured by her clothes and the bandages, but the small shift of her lower face told him that she was smirking.

His blood began to boil in anger. "What does a puny woman like you think she is doing?" He seethed at her.

"This puny woman is not as weak as you think." She answered calmly, reaffirmed her grip on his hand and hauled him into the air effortlessly before throwing him across the room.

All conversation died down and all gazes were fixated on the pub brawl that was about to break out. Some guests chose to leave in the shadows before things got too out of hand, others waited with baited breaths.

Kagura instinctively reached for the handle of her umbrella, but stopped herself after she recalled the bartender's words. If there's one person she's not going to mess with, it's the owner of this place.

The Dakini cursed colourfully as he stood up again and roughly pushed all people in his way aside. He was breathing heavily and his eyes had narrowed dangerously, all his fury concentrated on her.

Kagura's smirk widened slightly.

* * *

This land they lived in was home to many different tribes and races, the most prominent of them the humans. Others included the Dakini and Shinra, but there were too many too count. But the Yato, the Yato were considered the real monsters, proper nightmare material.

They lived off their bloodlust, and they were willing to do anything as long as they could feel the glory of taking another's life. They wielded fearsome umbrellas and were creatures of the night. Their snow-white skin was reminiscent of the corpses they left in their trails. Their monstrous strength and battle prowess were not to be underestimated and if you ever found yourself confronted with one, you could only pray that it would be a quick and merciless end for you.

Kagura often found herself suppressing her instincts to attack like a rogue animal. But it didn't mean that she didn't embrace them.

However, if you asked her whether violence was an answer, she would probably shake her head.

* * *

But this, right now, made her heart beat faster. This excitement was her instincts, her blood, yearning for battle. She cracked her knuckles in anticipation as the enraged Dakini charged at her. The vermillion-haired woman spared a glance for the Dakini's boss, who was watching both of them intently.

When their eyes met, the boss lifted his chin ever so slightly, trying to establish a certain superiority over her. She smirked at him, letting him know that that was not going to happen.

The Dakini attacked her while she was still looking over her shoulder, but her raw instinct let her intercept the attack without even looking at him. She turned her head back towards him painstakingly slow, enticing an angry growl out of him.

Her heart began pumping even faster along with the adrenaline. Her slim arm aimed for his collar, she grabbed it and slammed the Amanto into the ground through the wooden floorboards.

After realizing what she had done, she shot the bartender an apologetic look and mouthed 'sorry'. The man just shrugged and continued drying glasses.

The Dakini let out a ferocious growl and wrapped a hand around the wrist of the hand that was still holding on to the collar of his cloak. He glared up at her with unadultered rage on his blood-stained face. He yanked her arm away roughly and used the millisecond of imbalance this caused in her body to his advantage and landed a hardened fist in the area of her abdomen.

"You fucking cunt!" He shouted through crimson-coloured teeth.

If this would have been the punch from earlier, she would probably be coughing up blood now, but the short distance between them left little room for swinging out the punch, thus it not having a lot of force behind it.

"Is this puny woman too much for you to handle?" She mocked.

She jumped up, pulling her legs close to her chest as he aimed a kick for her lower half. She twisted in the air, aiming a kick of her own at the Dakini's torso. He crossed his arms in time to block it, but he still grunted in pain on impact.

"Are you sure you want to continue? You don't look too well." She feinted worry and laughed.

A satisfied smile crossed her lips as she pulled back into a stance, reading her opponent's next moves. The crowd around them had livened up again, and they were shouting and cheering, but all the voices mangled so that she couldn't understand a thing. Her heartbeat was thundering in her ears and all her attention was focused on the slightest movements the Dakini made, which muscles twitched and which were about to work extensively.

A small bead of sweat ran down the side of his face and mingled with the blood that was there from her previous attack.

He was going to use the distance to his advantage. A punch, aimed for her upper half, probably chest or face.

She followed the trail of his eyes while they assessed the situation.

Chest seemed the more likely target.

"You're going to regret this." He threatened her.

"Those won't become very famous last words." She replied calmly. She relaxed all her muscles in her body as everything began to slow down around her.

Her heart was till beating incredibly fast, but her breathing had evened out.

She closed her eyes and adjusted her stance one last time. She could sense the Dakini closing in one her, the right arm pulled back, his acceleration, the angry aura around him.

Suddenly, another presence popped up behind her.

She snapped open her eyes and found an empowered punch mere centimetres away from her face.

So it was the face, after-all.

She ducked at lightning speed, taking in the crunching sound of the Dakini landing his attack on one of his kin, the one that had snuck up behind her.

The second Dakini flew across the room, causing more property damage.

The first one still had a look of surprise and confusion etched on his face, which was quickly wiped away by Kagura's fist shattering his nose and breaking off one his horns. Her punch made him cross the room at magnificent speed, landing at his boss' feet like a miserably pile of Amanto.

Her heart was still racing in euphoria and the satisfactory feel of bones cracking and breaking under her bandaged fingers left her smiling like a mad man.

This was what it felt like to be alive.

The Dakini was wheezing and utterly furious and tried to stand up again, but his boss signalled him to stay down.

"So even the cute rabbits of the night have claws." The boss spoke. He shook his head. "I wonder what god was thinking when he let monsters like you be created."

"God doesn't exist in this rotten world." She answered.

"That's all point of view. And I'm sure you didn't beat up my subordinate because of religious reasons."

He was rational, she noted.

"No, I beat him up because he came looking for a fight. He insulted my abilities."

He laughed. "We Dakini believe children and woman don't belong on the battlefield. But the difference between this moron and me," he pointed at the lump at his feet, "is that I don't believe that Yato have children and women. When I look at you and your people, I only see monsters."

She pulled her lips into a thin line. "That's all point of view." She quoted him.

He crossed the room in nearly majestic steps, picked up his other subordinate by the back of the neck and returned to his first subordinate, picking him up with his other hand.

A trail of blood stained the wooden floor and went right past the hole she had put there earlier.

The bar was still silent, everybody watching the two of them. The Dakini boss turned back to her.

"I consider all Yato monsters, but your family must be the scariest of them all. I'd be careful where I walk around with that hair."

She immediately reached up to her hood, only to realize that it had fallen back over her shoulders some when during her scuffle. Her hair was in a simple braid, but it's vibrant vermillion shade stood out in the glum lighting of the bar.

"Old man, I'll pay for the repairs!" He called out to the barkeeper and threw a small sack of coins at him.

The Dakini left with his two subordinates and the other guests began to talk with each other again, the whole incident and the glaring hole in the floor nearly forgotten.

Somebody nearly slips on a puddle of blood, but it's swept aside quickly.

Kagura returned to her seat at the bar, her two neighbours now a considerate bit further away from her.

The bartender wordlessly pushed another glass in front of her.

She takes one sip, then another one, and another one. The bar had settled back into its pre-fight mumbling and talking and laughing.

"You Yato always walk around all covered up like that, it's always difficult to recognize anyone." The bartender sighed after she had finished about half of the glass.

"I'm not exactly sure how you can recognize somebody you've never met." She replied with a sigh.

"With hair like yours, it's easy. Like Toro said, your family is quite infamous." He explained.

"My family?" She scoffed. "Right now, we don't even resemble a family. And the only person who looks similar to me and is still alive is my broth-" She paused and frowned. It couldn't be, right?

"Your brother Kamui, right? The son of the great Umibouzo, hailed as the strongest man in the world." The barkeeper finished for her.

"I see." She answered grimly. Looks like finding her brother wouldn't be so difficult after all.

"There's no doubt that you are related, so why say you don't resemble a family?" he asked her while washing some glasses.

She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "We're related by blood, but that doesn't make us family. Families are related by heart." She explains bitterly before finishing the rest of her drink in one go.

"You want another one?" He asked her, dropping the previous topic.

She just nods.

"You know, the Harusame is divided into multiple divisions." He begins to say.

She looks up from her newly refilled glass.

"The captain of the Seventh Division has bright red hair like you."

She nods again. "I see."

"So I take it you'll be heading to Edo after this?" The old man asked after taking care of some other customers.

"Probably." She replied with a shrug. Not just probably, definitely.

"You mind doing me a favour then?" He asked innocently, but Kagura saw his eyes wandering to the hole in the floor, insinuating something.

She sighed. "Not at all."

"If on the way you meet a silver-haired man who only eats and drinks sweet things and is as hopeless and useless as a granny on her deathbed, please kick him all the way back here. He still owes me quite a bit of money." The man continued smiling.

The description sounded ridiculous to her ears, but she accepted anyway, considering she really did owe him to a certain extent.

She left a few coins on the bar and pulled her hood up again and left.

"Edo." She muttered to herself. "Looks like it's time to go back there."

* * *

If you asked her whether violence was an answer, she would shake her head.

But she wouldn't deny the kick she got out of beating somebody to a pulp.

* * *


	2. The Boy Who Wears Glasses But Isn't Smart

She woke up early the next day and took a few minutes to stretch all her muscles. The cheap inn came with a cheap bed by the looks of it.

Afterwards, Kagura dared take a look at the showers, wondering whether and half expecting that they would be in the same condition as her bed, but found herself positively surprised. It wasn't the cleanest place, but even on the trips with her parents she had seen worse.

After washing up quickly and changing her clothes, she left the inn quietly after throwing a few coins on the sleeping attendant's desk and pocketing one of the maps lying around.

She stepped out onto the fairly empty streets and immediately propped up her umbrella to shield herself from the rising sun.

A few farmers and vendors were leading their livestock and wagons through the narrow streets, occasionally shouting at each other for blocking each other's way.

Some maids and servants were carrying big baskets down towards what she assumed would be a river of sorts.

A young girl balancing a bucket of water on her head passed her on the right.

She made sure her bandages and hood were in place and continued her journey. This town was nothing special, and she would probably forget about the bartender with the strange request in no time.

The city gates loomed over her soon enough as she passed underneath them and left the town behind.

The next part of the way was rather uneventful, as she only followed the cobblestone path in silence with only the crunching sound of her boots meeting the ground accompanying her.

Once she saw the small houses in the distance indicating an upcoming village, her stomach growled ferociously, reminding her how stupid she had been in her excitement that she forgot to get food for the way.

She quickened her steps towards the village, anticipating a nice and warm meal. About the size of a buffet.

She got closer and closer to the houses, and her stomach grumbling grew louder and louder.

However, before she could enter the village, she was nearly run over by an ox pulling a cart.

"Watch out!" A panicked voice called out, breaking the silence of her journey.

The animal made loud noises of protest while the scrawny-looking human on the cart was helplessly trying to regain control over the beast. He whimpered as he was nearly thrown off the cart and Kagura decided to help the poor kid.

Holding down the ox was no problem for her, and soon it also stopped struggling under her firm grasp and calmed down. The scrawny kid got off his cart drenched in sweat and flushed red.

"Thank you so much! God knows what I would have done if you hadn't been there, Mister!" The bespectacled kid bowed deeply in a hurried manner, completely overlooking the fact that she was a female in the process.

"Oh! And I'm terribly sorry! I was really trying, but this cat ran over our way and... and well… oxen and cats don't mix well…" He broke into an awkward laughter as she didn't answer immediately.

"Be more careful next time." She opted to say in the end, startling the already nervous boy with her feminine voice.

"Ah, yes, of course!" He began bowing before her again. "And thank you again, Miss!"

She waved it off with her hand, preparing to continue her journey towards the village and, more importantly, food.

"Please, Miss! Let me repay you somehow! I don't have much money, but there must be something I can… " The boy gripped a piece of fabric of her mantle in order to stop her. She turned back towards him and removed his hand from her coat.

She had actually considered just to let it go, but reconsidered.

"Where are you headed, boy?" She asked him.

He blinked, then pointed to the village on the horizon.

"Kabuki."

* * *

Hitching a ride with the boy who apparently was older than her had been a pretty good decision.

She was currently at an inn happily filling her stomach with the home-cooked goodness, complementing the innkeeper's wife with every mouthful.

The elder lady smiled down at her and kept providing her with more and more plates filled with food.

Shinpachi, the boy from the ox carriage, awkwardly stood next to her table and seemed to have an uncomfortable expression on his face.

"Don't worry," she mumbled out between swallowing her bite-full and putting the next spoon-full into her mouth, "I can cover the bill."

The boy shifted from one leg to the other. "That's not quite it…"

The innkeeper's wife announced that she'd be back in a moment and headed back towards the kitchen.

Kagura paused her eating marathon and glanced up towards the black bowl-haired kid. "Then what is?"

He fumbled with his fingers before cautiously answering, "It's just that… I've never actually met a Yato before…"

Kagura suppressed her urge to sigh and nodded understandingly instead. "There's a first time for everything, kid."

"I- I guess." He answered, before adding "and my name's Shinpachi. Shinpachi Shimura."

Kagura just nodded one more before redirecting her attention to her food.

Names never meant much to her. Other races feared the Yato, so they usually ran away before they would think about introducing themselves. And the few that did feel courageous enough fell from memory due to their untimely deaths.

So in that moment, she couldn't have cared less what this puny boy's name was. Just as she had forgotten the bartender's name from the last town over, Shinpachi Shimura would just be grain of sand in the beach she ran across.

She nearly scoffed out loud. His appearance was about as plain as it got. Black, short hair, brown, average eyes, a skinny, nearly lanky frame with spectacles as the only defining feature he had to offer.

Not to mention that he apparently was two years older than her, but could hardly handle himself, yet alone an oxen and a cart.

"Did you need anything else from me?" She asked him with an almost rude tone to her voice.

He jumped slightly before shaking his head abruptly. "Ah, no…"

She put her chopsticks down in anticipation of what else he had to say, but after visibly gulping the boy decided to keep quiet. After waiting a few more seconds and raising her eyebrow expectantly, she sighed and chose to take matters into her own hands.

"So why are you still here? I can handle myself from here on out." She might have sounded harsh, but there was nothing this guy could gain from associating with her.

His eyes flitted around the room suddenly, examining the few other guests at the inn, before he hesitantly sat down across from her. At her inquiring gaze he only chewed on his bottom lip and sunk into deep thought.

"The tru-" He cleared his throat before attempting to speak again, "The truth is that I still need to transport the cargo from the cart across town."

He spoke with a low and hushed voice. His gaze still roamed the other people in the room until they settled back on her blue ones. "I can pay."

Those three words stirred something inside of her. Anger? Not really, no. Disgust? Neither. She stared at the rice in her bowl until the churning of her stomach revealed her evoked emotion.

It was disappointment. The thought that even here and now, she was nothing more than hireable and payable work force. It sickened her that her race only exists to do other's dirty work.

Not to mention that the boy was clearly lying. There was no way he could pay the usual price Yato charged. And he knew that too.

After taking a deep breath and placing her chopsticks over her bowl horizontally, she stood up, pushing her chair back in the process, causing a scratching sound to echo through the dining hall.

Her emotions were bubbling and boiling. She hated how those three words did that to her.

"I'm afraid I have to leave." She said abruptly. "I wish you luck for your journey."

Her fingers reached for her bandages and she pulled them up over her lower face, then decided to add something else.

Shinpachi was staring at her in surprise, his dull brown eyes wide and incomprehensive.

"One more piece of advice: Don't try to make those kinds of deals with people like us." She said in a cold voice, masking the rage building up within her.

She caught how his eyes widened even more, nearly inhumanly wide, but turned away from him. The way to the door seemed like an impossibly long distance to cover as she tried to keep her breathing steady while walking at an even pace. She dropped a pouch of coins on the innkeeper's wife's tray while passing her on the way out and calmly walked out of the door.

Once the fresh air hit her lungs and the glaring sunlight began sapping her strength immediately, she let her thoughts swirl through her mind once more.

It had never really occurred to her exactly what kind of a reputation the Yato race had. She knew of it, of course she did, but she had never fully realized the meaning of it.

She was still standing in the direct noon sunlight, but she couldn't bring herself to worry about that right then.

Random strangers walked up and down the street, ignoring her cloaked figure and living their lives as they would every day. They probably also connected her kind to ruthless, greedy mercenaries.

Her mind wandered back to Shinpachi. He looked so plain, so normal, so innocent. But the moment he said those three words, his brown eyes weren't so dull anymore, they were worse.

It was only a flicker in time, but he talked to her as if he was talking to a metal bucket, asking it to fetch water.

She was nothing more than a tool that would work for the highest bidder.

No, she was wrong just now. This churning, unpleasant feeling in her gut was a mixture of anger, disgust and disappointment.

A thought suddenly struck her. Was this how her brother felt? Was this why he joined the Harusame?

"Are you alright?" A soft voice broke her out of her thoughts.

Kagura blinked her eyes open, not having realized that she had closed them in the first place, just as she hadn't realized that she had sunk to her knees.

There was a young girl, probably five or seven years old, standing in front of her with eyebrows furrowed in worry. "Are you not feeling well?"

The girl's wide, innocent eyes reflected the sunlight and the redhead suddenly fully realized that she was still exposed to the toxic sun.

"I'll be fine." She grunted.

She slowly pulled her umbrella out of its holster and opened it with a bit of effort. The girl followed her movements with interest, trying to figure out her well-being.

"Do you not like the sun, miss?" She asked a few moments later while Kagura was recuperating in the shade of her umbrella.

"Not really." The Yato muttered in response.

The girl's face fell into frown. "But it's so pretty!" She exclaimed with a pout.

Kagura examined the girl a bit closer. She was wearing a rather pretty dress, and by the looks of it she was not part of a poor family. Then it occurred to her.

"Aren't you supposed to be with your mother?"

The girl looked to the side defiantly. "I'm a big girl, so I don't need to be."

That almost made the older girl laugh out loud. A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth because the girl just reminded her so much of her younger self.

"You're not that big of a girl yet." She said teasingly before standing up. "You can call yourself one when you're as tall as I am."

The younger girl's big eyes stared up Kagura in awe.

"Now go to your mother, okay?" She told her after spotting a similarly dressed brunette who seemed to be looking for something or someone.

The girl pouted but complied anyways, waving towards her while running towards the woman. Kagura gently raised her hand and waved back slightly, but not too much.

She sighed in content under the cool shade her parasol provided when her eye caught sight of a wooden cart with a resting ox in front of it and the short burst of warmness that the little girl had brought to her heart was immediately overshadowed.

She clenched her teeth and started walking down the road, away from the inn.

* * *

Shinpachi let his face fall onto the wooden surface of the table. How could he have done something so stupid? Stupid stupid stupid stupid.

The scary girl was right there, and he managed to piss her off. He managed to piss of a Yato. A freaking Yato.

Once the thought properly sunk in, he realized what this meant. She probably went out and was waiting to kill him, right? She was just waiting for the sun to go down so she could begin the hunt.

A shiver ran down his back as a mental picture of her tearing his body apart with her bare hands began forming in his mind.

Her cold, blue eyes would stare at him through her tinted goggles, and the fabric of the bandages over her face would stretch to reveal a maniacal grin.

He shuddered.

This was bad, and there was nothing he could do about it. They had this one task, this one opportunity to make money and he had screwed it up. The cargo was still in front of the inn, on the cart, safely tucked away. For now, at least.

He grunted into the table, slamming one hand down on the hard surface and only barely supressing his urge to let out a cry of frustration.

If the red-haired Yato didn't get to him, and he somehow made it through the mob, he would die latest when Gintoki found out how badly he messed up.

This was not a good day.

But a small voice in his head couldn't help but wonder exactly what had made the Yato react like that. Didn't they do all sorts of things for money?

Then, he attempted to bury his face deeper into the wood once he realized that he was basically doing the same thing at this point.

What would his sister do in his situation?


	3. The Man Who Has Silver Hair But Isn't Old

The setting sun tinted the town of Kabuki in soft red hues. Kagura didn't have to be a genius to figure out that this small town was populated by the scum of scum only. Questionable individuals of various races strolled from house to house, not even bothering to hide their face. Once night time set in, a large part of the town awoke and life filled the multiple host clubs and pubs.

Kagura strolled through the brightly lit streets, having just left the inn she got a room at, and decided to procure some food first.

She found a food stand a few minutes later, and after a some-what satisfying meal and a baffled vendor, she made her way to gather some more information. Somebody around here would have to know about what was going on in Edo.

She went down the street, wondering which bar to go into, but her plans lived through an imminent change when a drunkard suddenly slung his arm over her shoulder in order to use her as a support as he threw up into the adjacent alley.

"Sorry 'bout that." He slurred.

She merely narrowed her eyes at him, ready to throw him into that alleyway for shamelessly approaching a stranger like that, but decided that the way he fell over and slumped on the ground was probably embarrassment enough already.

She noted his weird, silver hair colour before entering the bar he had stumbled out of. His arm reached out and grabbed the end of her cape before she could actually enter the bar, though.

"W-Wait." He slurred again. "Can you take me home?"

She was very tempted to kick his face in with her heel, but merely grimaced instead. "Do I look like some sort of Taxi service to you? Let go of me." She snapped annoyed at him.

"That's right, a girl isn't enough to save you anymore, Mr. Sakata." A new voice spoke up. "Especially after you made off with our cargo."

Kagura turned to see a burly man standing behind them, and noted the silver-haired man's wary expression. That didn't stop the drunk idiot from spluttering though.

"T-That never belonged to you guys anyways…" He hiccupped, before turning slightly green and facing back to the alleyway, accompanied by the sounds of him emptying out his stomach contents.

"Everything I want  _will_  be mine." The man said, now being flanked by his lackeys. Judging by their nasty faces and the weapons they were wielding, they weren't on good terms with the silver-haired man who was busy wiping his mouth.

"I don't want to be a part of your little quarrel." Kagura simply said before attempting to leave again. Fights never meant anything good.

"W-Wait, I'll give you my greatest treasure! I'll give you all my strawberry milk!" The man called after her, lunging forwards and clinging to her leg. "Just help me, please!"

"What?" Caught off guard by the absurdity of his offer and the extra weight on her foot, she took a punch to her face from one of the burly guys' lackeys.

The man never had a chance to pull back his fist though, because Kagura had already latched onto his wrist with her hand and effectively snapped it like a twig. The guy cried out in pain and backed away from her in panic.

"Wha-? Monster!" He shouted, his good hand waving around and flailing around while his brain was still trying to process what had happened.

Kagura sighed in defeat. Looks like she was going to have to fight after all.

She picked the silver-haired drunkard up by the collar and dumped him on the ground behind her, taking a protective stance in front of him.

"Don't get in my way." She muttered, before dashing towards the group of men surrounding them.

The first one took a punch straight to the face, his jaw bone cracking and breaking under the impact and his head snapping back in an instant, causing severe damage to his spine. He dropped to the ground, unmoving.

The man next to him let out an angry growl and slashed at her with a large sledge hammer, unaware of his disadvantage in this situation. With her high agility, she easily sidestepped the attack and landed a perfect roundhouse kick to his back, sending him flying across the street.

A few pedestrians glanced at the scene, but didn't take action of any sort.

Like that, the men fell one after the other as she blocked punches, broke limbs and weapons and revelled in the sound of blood spurting out of wounds. They all carried heavy axes, broadswords, morning-stars and hammers, and while they all could have probably hurt her significantly, they couldn't swing their weapons fast enough to actually hit her.

One sword did manage to graze her, but the blood trickling down her forearm only made her Yato instincts go even further on a rampage. Picking up one of the fallen weapons, she let a grin slide on her face.

"Let me show you how to use this properly."

Not even waiting for their response, she swung it at them effortlessly, taking in the thuds of their mangled bodies meeting the cobblestone road. She had forgotten her reason for doing this, there was only one word on her mind. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.

Their leader stood further to the back, a mixture of anger, fear and disgust etched on his face.

Yes, that was the look she was used to. She was a Yato. Her abilities are disgusting. She's a monster. Those are the eyes that must be cut down.  _Don't look at me with those eyes._

She shortly glanced at her surroundings, at all the men she had taken down single-handedly.

_Papi, was this what you meant when you told us we had to be strong?_

She pointed the weapon at the leader, who was currently doing his best to keep his poker face on.

"That's right." She muttered. "Fear me."

Like a cornered dog, he did the only thing he could think of. Bark. "You fucking cunt! You'll regret this!"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Empty threats are meaningless. Bow down and beg for my mercy. You might get if you're lucky."

_Kamui, was this what you meant when you told me you'd be stronger?_

She closed her eyes, shoving away her memories when an image of her mother smiling at her showed up.

_Mami, what does it mean to be merciful?_

She turned her wrist, sending the blade directly towards the man's face. His eyes widened, dropping his brave face and visibly shivering in panic as the tip of the blade inched closer to his face by the millisecond.

He closed his eyes and began screaming. His screaming didn't stop for a long time. It turned into pathetic sobs and begs for mercy and for his life as he slumped on his knees and began bowing with his head to the ground.

Kagura blinked in confusion, her heart rate calming down and letting her take in the situation with a clear mind. Why was that man still alive?

Her eyes travelled to the side, where she saw that the silver-haired man was no longer throwing up every few seconds, but had actually deflected the broadsword by half a metre, just enough to save the man's life.

"Wha-?"

His eyes, a deep crimson, were focused, and he held a determined expression, but also something else that made her gut uncomfortable. That didn't last for long, however. In the time the other man needed to scramble to his feet, the silverhead had collapsed on the ground again, gagging while clutching his stomach. A sight that nudged her heart and brought on the nostalgia.

How often had she carried her father's drunk ass home?

She sighed as the burly man disappeared into the crowded streets and cooped up the silver-haired man into her arms.

"If you throw up on me, I'll drop you and dump you by the roadside." She told him in a serious voice, more out of instinct than anything else.

"I'll… do my best." But it wasn't the groggy, hungover voice of her father responding this time.

* * *

"First… get my sword." He grunted, pointing at a smaller wooden object stuck in the ground.

Had he really deflected her swing with that puny wooden sword?

She pulled one of his arms over her shoulder, supporting him while they slowly walked over and he clumsily pulled it out of the ground and slipped it into a niche on his belt.

"Are you an enchanter of some kind?" She asked him out of curiosity, trails of dread lacing her voice.

He laughed sleepily. "God, no. Not anymore." The last bit came out as a whisper, but Kagura still caught on to it before it disappeared in the wind.

They stayed silent for a while, walking down the road, well, rather her halfway dragging him.

"Pap-" She stopped herself halfway, reminding herself that this man was not her father. They were both just equally hopeless when drunk.

"Hey, permhead. What direction is your place?"

* * *

After rapping on the door to the kind of run-down place, but not too strongly since she didn't want to break the door, a boy opened the door with a worried look on his face.

"Gin!" He cried in relief, ready to pull the older man into an embrace, but he paused when he saw his boss' companion.

His face morphed from relief to dread in a matter of seconds before he began grovelling before her. "I'm so sorry! I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday!" His forehead touched the ground as he continued his dramatic display.

It took Kagura a moment to recognize him as the kid with the ox, but she was unsure of how to respond. Talking him down yesterday was an emotional outburst on her side, but he wasn't exactly innocent either. And now he was at her feet, begging for forgiveness.

She sighed once more. "Just forget it and take this good-for-nothing off my back."

She considered also apologizing, but her pride stopped her. Why should she apologize? She was a proud Yato. Her brother would laugh at her for apologizing.

The bespectacled kid nodded feverously and plucked the silver-haired man off her shoulders before disappearing into the house while thanking her repeatedly.

She threw one last glance at the house, than turned away and headed back to her inn. Looked like the sun was going to be rising soon.

* * *

The next few days were rather uneventful, she hit up a few bars and clubs, but nobody really had any valuable information for her. It was only when she passed the bar where she had met the silver-haired man that she got something useful.

"That damn samurai!" A man muttered angrily while kicking a wall. "Teaming up with a Yato like the little coward he is!"

Samurai? Kagura paused to listen in on the conversation. She had heard of those. A nearly extinct warrior rank amongst the humans. According to her father they were strong men with unbreakable conviction and a high code of honour, but that code of honour ultimately caused their downfall.

Much like enchanters, they were rare these days.

"That Yato took out most of our strongest men, Boss! I saw her, she was a fucking monster!" Another male voice spoke from the shadows. Oddly enough, Kagura recognized that voice. It belonged to the burly man who was begging for his life just a few days ago.

"I believe you, Kenji, but we need a way around this problem. With her help, they will definitely get the cargo to Edo, and the shogunate is going to kill us. If the opposition grows even further, the Harusame is going to side with them and break their contract with our faction." The boss contemplated, and unhappy tone to his voice.

Kagura instead found herself grinning brightly. This was it! Information on the Harusame and the situation in Edo!

It didn't take her long to piece the puzzle together, and in conclusion the silver-haired man and the glasses boy were smuggling something for the opposition in Edo.

She smirked. This was her ticket right into the capitol city.

She walked up to the two of them, a serene smile on her face. "Excuse me, gentlemen. Can we talk about a little something?"

* * *

She wiped her bloody hands on the dark fabric of her cape and left the alleyway. What valuable information indeed.

She kind of remembered the way to the silver-haired man's house, so it didn't take long until she stood in front of the shabby house once more.

She knocked on the door, waiting for a response. She noted the ox drinking from a tub in front of the house peacefully, but couldn't sight the cart.

The door opened, revealing the glasses kid. Shin… Shinichi? Was that his name?

His eyes grew wary and confused, but he did his best to keep his composure. "C-Can I help you?"

She nodded and pulled down her hood in curtesy of entering a house. "Yes, you can. I want to talk to Gintoki Sakata."

"You want to talk to Gin?" The boy asked, tilting his head to the side.

She sighed. "Yes, That's what I just said, isn't it? Tell him I have an offer he'll definitely not refuse."

He nodded eagerly and disappeared into the corridor, giving her space to enter the house and close the door behind her. It was furnished rather simply, with only the bare necessities.

"Right this way, please!" The boy nearly shouted while bowing and gesturing to one of the doors.

She walked towards it and pushed it open, entering the small, dimly-lit room with a table and two couches.

The boy ran towards the window and ripped open the curtains, letting what little moonlight there was flood the room.

"Gin, you have a guest." He told a lump on one of the couches.

The lump groaned and moved, complained about a headache and slowly sat up while clutching its temple.

"Yes?" He yawned.

"I believe you remember me, Mr. Sakata." She greeted him while taking a seat on the opposite couch.

He rubbed his eyes and looked at her. "Ah, the young lady who helped me out. Even if your form of help differed from what I had imagined. Shinpachi, get us some tea."

Shinpachi shuffled away, disappearing into what she assumed was the kitchen. Then she turned back to Gintoki.

"If my form of help deviated from your ideas, than what would you have had me do?" She raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

"I actually only expected you to grab my hand and help me run away, not take out a group of criminals." He awkwardly answered while rubbing his hand on the back of his neck.

"I see. From what I understand, everybody in this town is a criminal. But from what a little birdy chirped to me earlier, those guys actually wouldn't be considered criminals in the capitol, would they?"

He let out a humourless chuckle. "A part of me hoped you were here for the strawberry milk, but I can see that that's not the case. I'm also pretty sure that birdy croaked after you were done with it."

"Maybe." She answered coldly. "Back to the topic, I also heard you guys need help transporting certain cargo into Edo, and coincidentally I need to get into Edo as well. What do you say we make a deal?"

The man brought a hand up to his chin. "Having a Yato guard the cargo would be of a huge advantage, but what do you want in return? A Yato that isn't part of the Harusame will be persecuted and converted in Edo, unless you have some kind of special status or so."

"Don't worry about me, I got that covered. I just want to get into the city undetected, and I believe you know how to."

"Perhaps I do. But how do I know I can trust you? From what I've heard, Yato will do most anything for money. Even go undercover." He narrowed his crimson eyes at her in suspicion. "What are you going to do in Edo?"

She calmed herself down before speaking. "Not all Yato are like that. If you insist on knowing, I intend on finding my family there."

Sakata shot an eyebrow up. "Your family?"

She nodded. "Yes, is that a problem?"

"No, it's just… a rather peculiar reason…" He shook his head. Then he looked at her with a mixture of realization, pity and understanding.

At that moment, Shinpachi re-entered the room and set two cups of steaming tea down in front of them.

"Wanting to be around others." The man continued. "Every race has a sort of longing for companionship, it's not really that complicated. We may look different on the outside, but on the inside," he paused and put his hand over his heart, "We're all just scared creatures, afraid of being alone."

Kagura bit down on her bottom lip, trying to find a way out of this conversation. "I didn't come here to talk about that. We're getting off topic."

He began pouring sugar into his tea, till the point that there was more sugar than tea in there and stirred the syrupy mass.

"You put on that tough, emotionless act," he went on, "but you're also just a soul that has been left alone a few times too many."

The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned cold as Kagura Gritted her teeth together.

She was ready to rage out at him, call him insolent and unbelievable for even thinking that, yell at him that he couldn't possibly understand her but when she opened her mouth, not a single sound came out.

Because he  _could_  understand her. So much that that last sentence seemed more directed towards himself than to her. His red, dead eyes reflected something that she had seen in her own eyes countless times when looking into a mirror.

That night, when he deflected her sword, he had the face of a warrior. A dead warrior who died along with his victims.

Much like she felt she died every time she gave into her instincts.

She slumped into the seat in defeat and put her face into the palms of her hands.

"What of it?" She whispered. She was never really good at facing the truth, it seems. She thought she had a pretty good grip on reality, but apparently she didn't know of her own position on the board because she was so busy observing everybody else.

He shrugged. "Nothing, really. It just means you have a heart and you have emotions. I would say it makes you humane, but I won't for obvious reasons."

"If that was supposed to be funny, it wasn't really." She muttered.

"That aside," he awkwardly coughed after failing to lighten the mood with his attempted joke, "Shinpachi here told me about what happened a few days ago."

A few days ago? Ah, the restaurant incident.

"I know what he said was extremely rude and presumptuous, but you're not exactly a pacifist either." The samurai continued. "You're a walking, talking contradiction."

She looked back up at him, a scowl forming on her face. "Oh? Please, do elaborate."

"You have a lot of money and you are obviously a skilled fighter. It's not difficult to jump to conclusions. Additionally, you clearly enjoy fighting and are well-versed with your tribe's policies. You also know what others think of your tribe, but even so, you openly say you are tracking down your family. But I've never heard of familial bonds being valued amongst Yato."

He took an audible breath. "I only see a selfish little girl who didn't want to be alone anymore, so she's seeking out the only company she knows: her family members. She won't deny her heritage, but she will be offended by being bunched in with it. She won't fight for money, but she will for her personal enjoyment. Do you see what I mean?"

She remained silent while clenching her fists in her lap. Was this the result of losing sight of herself? Her anger was unsure of where to be directed at, at this man for laying her soul out open on the table, at herself for being like this, or at this world that made her this way?

"If what I'm doing is wrong, what is right?" She asked out loud, not sure if that was her intention or not.

"Selfish people end up alone in this world. Selfless people end up being taken advantage of. There's no right answer to what you should be. But, being selfish is not a bad thing, either." He explained, before gulping down his sugar with tea. She wanted to say something, but he continued talking before she had a chance to.

"I don't think you got angry because Shinpachi asked you to do something for him. I think it was rather his incentive that bothered you." Gintoki elaborated, changing subjects once again. "I think that, if he had asked you for your help as a person, and not as a mercenary-for-hire, you would have probably escorted him across town, even if only subconsciously."

"You think so?" She muttered heartlessly. Her emotions were all over right now, and a part of her was just ready to give up altogether. Maybe this had been a bad idea. Maybe this was too much for her to handle. Maybe she just wasn't strong enough. Was that the reason she was left behind? Because she was weak?

"Yes." He answered her in all earnest. "You helped me, a drunkard who nearly threw up all over you in the middle of a street in a town you were new to, all because I offered you something that wasn't money."

"Strawberry milk hardly counts. I actually wanted to throw you into one of the waste bins on the way, you know?" She sighed.

"But you didn't."

Yes, why didn't she? It would've spared her this ridiculous conversation. Ah, right. The stupid nostalgia.

"Why?" She decided to ask in exasperation.

"Why what?" He inquired.

"Why are you telling me all this? My personal issues are not your problem." She asked, even though she already knew the answer. It was because…

"I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did." He said earnestly. "When I saw you fight those guys that day, I couldn't even think things like 'What a monster' or so. I only saw myself doing the same thing many years ago, cutting down anybody in my way and in the way of my orders."

"Am I supposed to be your redemption of sorts then?" She asked bitterly. "Are you trying to save me because you couldn't save yourself?"

He just shook his head. "I can't save you. I'm not even sure you can be saved. But you can change yourself. If you really wanted to, you could change yourself for the better." He gave her a reassuring smile.

"What's it to you? You shouldn't care about what happens to me after the job."

"You're right, I shouldn't. But I do care about what happens to you during the job. The journey to Edo takes a few days, so I would like to get along with you until then."

Shinpachi also shot her a small smile. "I hope we can work well together."

Her eyes widened in surprise. What was this warm feeling in her chest? Why was she getting teary-eyed? A feeling so foreign, so distant… feeling welcomed.

"The two of you are morons." She answered, a solemn tear trickling down her face.

Gintoki Sakata had the hair of an old man, but he wasn't. No, he was only a man who had wise words to offer.


	4. The Man Who Is Katsura But Isn't Zura

Daybreak was kind to her, the first few sun rays peaking over the horizon and casting long shadows of crops and fruit trees.

She opened her umbrella with one hand, settling it over her shoulder, her other hand pulling a large cart behind her.

"Do you really need that much protection from the sun?" Gintoki, as he asked her to refer to him, asked, curiosity shining through his voice. "I hope you don't mind the question, I never had a meaningful conversation with a Yato before."

"Does that mean you've spoken to one of my kind before?"

The silver-haired man shrugged. "It wasn't much. A few threats and insults, but never more than that."

"I see." She answered evenly. She hadn't quite decided how to act around the duo just yet, despite them welcoming her with open arms. "We have really sensitive skin, we'd rather go for overkill than risk exposure."

"So, what happens when it is exposed?" Shinpachi rose his voice, somewhat to her surprise.

Kagura subconsciously spun her umbrella between her fingers. "It hurts. It really hurts. Like you're burning up from the inside. If you stay in the sun too long, your skin dries up and flakes off, and the cells in your body start breaking down pretty much immediately."

A grim expression crossed her face. "It's the price we pay for our tremendous strength and agility."

She shared a look with Gintoki, because she was well aware he knew all about what it was like to pay hefty prices.

His face dimmed, distracted by dark thoughts. "Ah, sorry for asking."

Her grip on the handle of her parasol loosened and tightened. "It's okay."

The rest of the day was spent in silence, until the sun set on the other side of the land again. They camped out on a small clearing in a forest, falling into dreamless slumber.

* * *

"What are you going to do when we get to Edo?" Shinpachi asked her the next day. She was surprised she managed to remember his name.

"I'm not sure yet." She admitted. "I have clues as to where my family members are, but I have to consider the circumstances before doing anything."

"Let me guess, it has something to do with the Harusame." Gintoki quipped in, popping a piece of candy into his mouth.

"In a way." Kagura said, looking off to the side. Truthfully, all she knew was that her brother was somehow involved, probably a division leader. The rumours of a bounty hunter in Edo matched up with her father, but she didn't have any decisive evidence.

"They're a troublesome bunch, but at least they're mainly non-humans." Gintoki muttered. "Even if they're sided with the corrupt government in Edo, we don't have to worry about enchanters."

Kagura grimaced at the word 'enchanters'.

"It doesn't help that they are mainly Yato, though." Shinpachi blanched. "I heard almost every Yato on the continent has drifted to Edo over the past few months."

"You can't really blame them." Kagura pondered. "When I heard about it my first thought was to come here as well. After centuries of interfamily slaughtering, working together for a cause is a good opportunity to change up our flawed traditions."

A sad, bitter tone took over her voice. "Not that I don't understand why we have our traditions. If there were too many Yato alive at the same time, there's no doubt it would only create more chaos than already exists."

"It's like trimming your hedge yearly so your neighbour can't complain about it growing over the fence." Gintoki added.

The corner of Kagura's lip twitched upward. "That's a very light-hearted way of putting it, but yes."

"Not everything in life has to be grim." He smiled wistfully. "Let's say that's the lesson of the day."

Kagura allowed herself to smile softly. "If you say so."

* * *

"What's your favourite food?"

Kagura raised an eyebrow at the question, but answered regardless. "Sukonbu."

The silver-haired man sighed loudly and shook his head disapprovingly. "You need to stop the one word answers. Say more about it. Why is it your favourite food? Does it bring back special memories?"

"What is this, a school essay?" She muttered. Somehow, with each conversation, he had begun treating her more and more familiar. But she didn't particularly mind.

"It's called a basic communication skill. Let me demonstrate." Gintoki cleared his throat dramatically. "My favourite dish is strawberry parfait. It's smooth, creamy texture just melts on your tongue, the flavour burst out and you feel a pleasant moment of happiness. The next bite nearly gives you a brain freeze, but the temptation is just too great, and you can't resist, and before you know it –"

"And before you know it, we're dead broke." Shinpachi interrupted.

A guilty look flashed across the samurai's face. "I was going to say something else, but that too."

A memory nagged Kagura at the back of her mind, something about a sugar-loving man owing somebody money, but she pushed it aside.

She liked this Gintoki more, she decided. The one who wasn't reminded of his darker past. She didn't know the details, but the small fact that he was involved with magic at some point was enough for her to draw her own conclusions.

She shook her head. No, this one that had a smile on his face, ignorant of the bleak realities. The carefree one that talked about his favourite desserts.

It reminded her of the time she and her brother had an overdramatic discussion about which toppings on rice tasted better.

It was a shard of childish innocence.

"Stop." Gintoki's voice suddenly turned serious, and the three of them came to a standstill.

Kagura gently set the cart down, hand itching towards the handle of her umbrella. "Are you having stomach problems again?"

Gintoki responded to the code phrase by pointing diagonally behind him towards a large tree, sticking out two fingers. "Oh, you know, I probably ate too much at the last inn. Just let me rest for a bit."

Kagura feigned looking around, her eyes scanning the crown of the tree along the way. She furrowed her brows, not seeing anything. "I'll go look for water over there, stay put."

He flipped his hand around before she left, making her want to grimace. That was the signal for something very troublesome, something she'd rather not think about.

Magic.

No wonder she couldn't see anybody in the tree. It didn't matter though, she could simply kick the tree over. Or throw a rock at it. There were many options, honestly.

However, if the past three days in the company of Gintoki and Shinpachi had taught her anything, it was to think things over before doing them, so she strolled up to the tree leisurely. Even if they were using magic to mask themselves, magic wasn't almighty. They were bound to slip up, whoever they were.

A rustle of leaves when there was no wind, for example. A squirrel hopped down the branches, and just as it was about to pass Kagura she picked it up by the skin of its neck.

It squirmed in her hold, it's unnaturally patterned eyes staring back at her in frenzy. It squealed and struggled, but it was helpless.

Another rustle caught her attention, and she couldn't help but note exactly how careless these people were. Despite having considerable magic skills, slipping up twice like that was either pure stupidity are a convoluted trap, or she doubted the latter option.

In a few steps, she scaled the tree, closing her eyes and honing in on whatever moving object she detected in her vicinity. If she couldn't trust her eyes, she could still trust her instincts.

A larger form struggled in her grip, and upon opening her eyes again, she was looking at a scared man, shaking and sweating from fear.

"P-Please, don't hurt me! Please!" He screamed, trying to get out of her hold. "Please! My children need me!"

She scowled at him, then dragged him and the squirrel back to Gintoki without saying a word.

"What should I do about them?" She asked him coldly, disregarding the whimpers of the grown man in her clutch.

Gintoki glanced at them, then shrugged. "What would you do?"

"Kill them." She answered right off the bat, more out of reflex then out of deep thought.

"Think, then answer again." He advised her calmly.

"Get answers out of them… and…" She paused, realization sinking into her. Killing was still her first solution to everything, but it's not as if she ever learned anything else. "And beat them up as a warning." She finished her sentence.

"I guess that will do as improvement for the day." Gintoki sighed, standing up and looming over the unnamed man. He crouched down before him, looking at him with relentless ruby eyes.

"You heard the lady. If you start spilling she'll only leave a bruise as a friendly reminder."

"Please, spare me!" The man begged. "I didn't even know what was going on! There was this man, and he told me that the stone would bring fortune to my family. My business just recently shut down, an-"

"I don't care about your sob story." Gintoki cut him off mercilessly. "All I care about is why you were in a position to ambush travellers. Besides, you should be well aware of how magic works."

Shame bloomed across the man's face. "I know. I know!" He screamed. "But, I had to try!"

"That doesn't answer my question." Gintoki pressed on.

The man choked back a sob. "The stone went berserk, and possessed the squirrel. After tha-"

Gintoki cut the man off once more, this time by knocking him unconscious. He frowned deeply. "This sounds bad."

"It might not be safe for us to go on." Shinpachi remarked worriedly. "If there are enchanters going around and selling weird things, who knows what we will encounter next."

"I agree." Kagura admitted. "At least about it not being safe. But I don't think its reason enough to turn back."

Gintoki, who was busy examining the magic circle on the squirrel's eye, pulled his lips into a thin line. "I also wouldn't turn around just because of something as trivial as this, but it won't hurt to pay more attention to our surroundings."

He dug through the pockets of his coat, pulling out a simple slip of paper with a few symbols on it and placing it on the squirrel's face. The eerie glow dissipated from its eyes, and it blinked in confusion before jumping down in search of food, disappearing into a nearby bush.

"You must have sold your soul and a foot for those things." Kagura said, eyeing the piece of paper.

"Not really. You just have to know the right people." The silver-haired samurai replied dimly. "Let's continue moving."

"I guess knowing those people must be enough of a price." Kagura whispered to herself before pulling the cart behind her again, leaving behind the unconscious man on the side of the road.

* * *

Kagura didn't like magic.

It was dark, filthy, and only brought tragedy in the long run, much like her own race. Additionally, unlike humans, Yato couldn't sense it, meaning it was something she had to find a way around. Both fortunately and unfortunately, she never had a serious encounter with a magic user before, but she wasn't going to count her chickens before they hatched.

Powerful enchanters usually sold their sanity, soul and peace of being to the craft, leaving nothing but shells of power in their stead.

It was inhumane.

She was glad Gintoki managed to break out of the devil's grasp in time.

* * *

The tall gates of Edo soon loomed in the distance, reminding Kagura just how much can change in such a short span of time. It resembled a fortress rather than a lively city.

She didn't say a word when they made a wide berth around the path that would lead to the entrance gate, treading through forest ground instead.

They hadn't had any other encounters after their last one, but they were all still on high alert. Conversations were stiff and stale, and kept to a minimum.

The forest ended after a while, revealing a small valley, and upon looking further down, she could spot the tell-tale grey of the imploring walls of Edo.

"I guess that's where we're headed?" She pointed at the niche between the valley and the wall, probably just big enough to fit a carriage through.

Gintoki nodded. "Our contact should arrive soon as well."

"We should hurry." Shinpachi remarked, looking up at the darkening sky. "It would be best if we got there before the sun sets. We also shouldn't make Katsura wait too long."

Gintoki continued nodding. "Alright, Kagura, be careful with the cargo. This slope can be a bit tricky."

Kagura rolled her eyes at that. "You make me sound like I'm a klutz. I take pride in my grace, thank you very much."

The samurai chuckled. "Just be careful, okay? There are a few uneven patches."

The Yato glanced at the covered cart she had been dragging behind her for most of their journey. "It's just weapons, right? Shouldn't they be able to handle a bit of rattling?"

"I wish that were the case. The man who makes them for us is as mad as he is creative. He said there was some kind of new technology involved with these ones, and that we should be careful. And a bit of rattling is quite an understatement."

Kagura raised a brow, but once she laid her own eyes on the aforementioned slope, she understood. She couldn't even call it a path anymore. It was rather an accumulation of large rocks that resembled a line. She let out a sigh.

"I guess I don't have a choice." She knelt down searching the bottom of the cart for something, then lifted the entire thing over her head. She turned to Gintoki and Shinpachi. "Will this do?"

They stared at her, but gave their sign of approval regardless.

"How do you two normally do this?" She inquired out of curiosity, taking her next step carefully.

"We usually carried the cargo down bit by bit." Shinpachi explained somewhat ashamed. "It was the best solution we could think of."

Kagura hummed in reply.

* * *

When they reached their destination, they were greeted by a man with long hair and an apprehensive look in his eyes.

"Gintoki, what's the meaning of this?" He asked coldly, giving Kagura a glare.

"Relax, Zura." Gintoki reassured the man. "She's with us."

"It's not Zura, it's Katsura. And she's a  _Yato_." Katsura, as it seemed, answered, not even trying to hide his animosity towards her kind.

"So?" Gintoki locked his gaze with Katsura's, and a few seconds later the long-haired man broke the stare with a sigh. "I trust you, Gintoki, so I hope you know what you are doing."

"Thank you." Kagura bowed to show her gratitude.

Katsura's gaze lingered on her, not trusting her quite yet, but she couldn't blame him.

"This way." He commanded, leading them into an underground tunnel of sorts. Probably old mining tunnels by the looks of them.

"What's a Yato doing on the side of the opposition, anyways?" He inquired after some time.

Kagura glanced at him, his stern features and serious expression making this feel like the interrogation it probably was.

She mulled over her answer for a few seconds. She didn't have any particular political viewpoint, since she didn't think any of the sides were right nor wrong. A functioning government was something that was only a theory in her mind.

"I was repaying a debt." She replied honestly in the end. "I'm not on either side of this battle."

Katsura's shoulders stiffened, but he caught himself in time, relaxing back into his cold demeanour. "I don't trust you."

"That would be too much to ask of you. I just wanted passage into Edo without drawing too much attention." She supplied.

"So you wouldn't be indoctrinated into the Harusame?" Katsura concluded, a frown forming on his face.

"For one." Kagura admitted, leaving out her second reason. Given the resemblance between her brother and herself, her hair alone would be enough of a clue, so she was glad that Katsura hadn't commented on it yet.

He didn't press on, just pulled his lips into a thin line.

"Are you done interrogating her?" Gintoki cut in with a bored tone.

"I am. At least, for now." Katsura replied. "I guess having a Yato around will be a benefit."

Kagura's fist twitched by her side, and the same feeling of disappointment began filling her heart when he reduced her to her race with such a tone. However, before she could explode in anger, a sorrowful look crossed Katsura's face.

"Ah, sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

The heart-breaking honesty behind those words stopped her. The disappointment began to dissipate with his first heartfelt words since meeting him, the empty look in his eyes telling a story of its own.

Her throat felt dry. "It's okay." She said, but it came out as more of a whisper.

Everybody had their own inner demons, after all.

* * *

The tunnel lead to a large underground facility, filled with hard-working men.

"This is our exterior hall." Katsura explained, gesturing around. "We use this route to bring in goods. It also serves as our emergency exit, should things ever go downhill."

Kagura nodded, being the obvious recipient of the explanation. It was always good to have contingency plans.

"You may not be part of our faction," Katsura continued. "But I can't let you go just yet. I hope you understand."

"I do." She complied. "You need me to have a good reason to keep my mouth shut about all this."

"Yes." He nodded. "I'm glad we're on the same page." He turned to a group of workers currently doing nothing.

"Unload the cargo, do so carefully. Gengai used some crafty enchantments on them this time." He commanded, at which the group immediately started working.

"Lord Katsura!" Another man came running up to them. Upon spotting the three of them, he bowed in greeting. "And company. Lord Katsura, we discovered the location of one of the government's next meetings."

He passed a scroll to Katsura, who glanced over its contents. "I see. Ask the explosives squad to start working on ammunition. We're going all out."

The last bit was said with a hit of playfulness, and Kagura watched as Katsura slipped into a different persona before her eyes. He began joking with his men, playing dumb other times, or just making overall nonsensical statements.

Kagura furrowed her eyebrows, but aided the men unloading the cargo as she was asked to do.

The longer she brooded over it, the more she began to realize it. It was just the same with Gintoki.

Whatever happened in their pasts, it was bad enough that they were willing to cover it up with fake laughter and smiles.

She suddenly felt disappointed in herself for thinking that she preferred the happy, smiling Gintoki. Of course she did, that was the whole point of that persona, that mask.

Shame grew in her chest and she pulled her lips into a thin line. In the end, she really was a selfish little girl.

* * *

"Doesn't it hurt?" She asked Gintoki later that evening, as the two of them sat in the kitchen area of the facility. Shinpachi had already called it a day and went to sleep.

"Doesn't what hurt?" He asked her, visibly confused.

"Smiling all the time." She couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye, opting to stare at the reflective surface of her sake instead.

He remained silent, looking off into the distance before finishing his drink in one gulp.

"Our master was an enchanter." Gintoki told her that as she poured another cup of sake for him. "We were very young, so all we saw was his bright smile. He taught us everything we know, but we never saw the demon residing in him."

"You mentioned something like that before. That you used to be an enchanter." She muttered, putting the puzzle pieces together in her mind. The 'we' probably referred to himself and Katsura, maybe others as well.

Gintoki stiffened visibly. "Unfortunately. We hadn't realized just how consumed our master had become, and blindly followed his footsteps in aspiration of becoming just like him."

"I know that feeling." She sighed, thinking back to when she wanted to be just like her father. A mysterious bounty hunter who defeated his every foe. "But now that I'm older, I don't want to be like him anymore."

"It does." Another voice joined into their conversation. Katsura slid into the seat opposite of them and helped himself to the sake. "It does hurt. But if all I did was whine in self-pity all day, things would never change. Many other will keep ending up like us, losing parts of their soul to the dark arts."

He paused to take a sip of his alcohol. "Miss Kagura, I know you are not on our side of this battle, but I hope you understand."

It wasn't the first time he said those words to her today, but this time they held a completely different meaning. Her heart clenched.

She had been sheltered in her little cottage for so long that she never stopped to consider things on a large scale. She never thought about other people.

She really was selfish. "I'm sorry." She whispered beneath her breath.

"What for?" Katsura sighed. "It's not your fault."

Kagura remained silent, taking a large gulp of her sake.

"Miss Kagura, you're not a bad person." Katsura suddenly spoke up. "I can tell that much. I also know that you won't rat us out to the government. Please enjoy your stay here, and let us know when you want to leave. One of my men will escort you to the surface."

He finished his drink, then left again.

Gintoki watched him leave, then reached under the table for a new bottle of sake. "What do you think?" He asked her.

"I think it's valiant of him." She admitted. "And selfless."

The silver-haired man tilted his head. "We had a conversation about that, remember? About selfishness and selflessness."

"Yes, I remember." Kagura traced the rim of her glass with her finger. "I just can't help but imagine what it must feel like for both of you. Smiling despite the pain."

A sad smile flickered across his face. "It's not just us." He replied mysteriously.

Kagura spun her own cup of sake around between her fingers, then wrinkled her nose. "Magic is disgusting."

Gintoki chuckled at that. "It sure is. It sure is. But it still draws in so many people. Power will beat rationality any day."

A pause. There was that look of emptiness, of giving up in his eyes again.

"Would you use magic? If you could?" He suddenly asked her, but she shook her head immediately.

"One curse is more than enough, thank you." She smiled weakly, at least the light returned to his eyes with that.

* * *

A blonde man entered the dark room, coughing at the thick air.

"Seriously, Hijikata, you should ventilate at least once a day." He complained, waving his hand in front of his nose to clear the smoke. "What'd you call me here for anyway?"

The sound of a pipe tapping against an ashtray was his only answer at first. "Sougo, I have a mission for you."

"You don't sound very enthusiastic about it." Sougo Okita stated his observation. "That's new."

"I'm not particularly enthusiastic about it. I don't think you will be either." His superior muttered in response.

Okita sat down across from Hijikata. "Try me."

"The higher-ups are upset about the… infestation." Hijikata chose his words carefully. "They are worried about somebody breaching the alliance, especially with their growing numbers."

"So they want one of us to play mole." Okita concluded with a sigh. "Why not Yamazaki?"

Hijikata gave him a look. "I can't expose Yamazaki to a place overflowing with magic."

Okita propped his chin in his palm. "But it's okay if it's me?"

"We may have our differences." Hijikata said solemnly. "But I trust you not to do anything stupid. I know you won't give in to the magic."

Unspoken words passed between them, and Okita sighed in reluctant defeat. "Give me the details."


	5. The Man Who Fights For Justice But Doesn't Believe In It

Okita ran his fingers through his long hair, more out of habit than actual care of what it looked like. He let out a long sigh, waiting for his contact in the Harusame to show up.

"The seventh division, huh?" He muttered to himself, absentmindedly wrapping the tip of his ponytail around the tips of his fingers. "How troublesome."

"That's us alright." Another voice answered cheerfully, stepping out of the shadows. "At least that's what everybody says about us."

Okita gave the Yato a sceptical glance. His brilliant red hair peaked out from between the bandages covering his face, a pair of blue eyes the only recognizable trait.

"Commander Kamui, I assume?" The police officer inquired, stretching out his hand for a greeting.

"That's me. I take it you're Captain Okita, then?" The Yato took his hand and gave it a firm squeeze. Okita retaliated, not willing to throw his pride away just yet. The two men stared each other down until something cracked.

"Ah sorry." The Yato laughed. "I keep forgetting how fragile humans are."

Okita nursed his injured hand, but still managed a smile despite the pain. "I guess it can't be helped. I wouldn't expect much different from a bunch of monsters."

The blue eyes examined him for a few seconds before Commander Kamui, or smug face, as Okita was ready to refer to him, broke out into laughter.

"You have guts, I like that. Make sure you don't lose them."

Okita rolled his eyes. "I'm not planning to."

"Now, back to business." Smug Face cleared his throat. "We recently let the location of Chief Kondou's speech leak to the opposition."

Okita's eyes widened at that, and he was ready to throw the Yato to the ground and claw out his eyes. "What?"

Said Yato held up his hand. "Now, before you get your underwear in a bunch, we have things covered. We want you to use the opportunity to infiltrate them and foil their major plans. Make sure it's not too obvious, 'kay?"

Smug Face playfully patted him on the shoulder with an aggravatingly cheery smile. "Now follow me so that we can get your hand patched up."

Reluctantly, Okita followed Smug Face into the parlour they met in front of, and a few passwords and guards later they were going down a staircase.

Smug Face turned to him. "Isn't our alliance great?"

Okita glowered at him. Alliance? In his eyes, they were just being treated like dogs with interchangeable masters. "Just dandy." He muttered, not attempting to hide his contempt.

"Ah, you're a lively one." Kamui grinned. "It really makes me happy."

"Well, that wasn't my intention." Okita glared at the red-haired Yato, who had begun removing his bandages.

"Sometimes, we do the best things in life unintentionally." Smug Face shrugged, gesturing for Okita to sit down in a chair.

The blonde police officer complied with a grim expression. The things he did for Kondou.

* * *

"I'm surprised you're still here." Katsura greeted her the next morning.

Kagura swirled her spoon through the breakfast porridge. "I can't help but feel indebted to you." She admitted hesitantly.

"I've hardly done anything for you." Katsura sighed, taking a seat next to her. "Why would you feel indebted to me?"

"Isn't it a huge risk for me to be here? If I really were associated with the government, you'd be at a disadvantage." She explained, her brows furrowed. Neither Gintoki nor Shinpachi were there yet, and most of the other members of the Joishishi were still asleep.

Katsura folded his arms and hummed in thought. "I think your thought process is too simple."

She looked up from her food. "What do you mean by that?"

"I trust Gintoki's judgement, you should know that much by now. We've been through a lot, more bad times than good ones. He doesn't trust people easily." He paused. "I think that says a lot about both of you as people."

"You think so?" She mumbled, lifting a spoonful of porridge to her mouth. "What do you think it says about me?"

"I don't mean to offend you in any way, Miss Kagura, but I think you're awfully naïve, which in itself doesn't have to be a bad thing. However in our situation, it's bound to be your downfall sooner than later." He said tersely.

A tight smile made its way to her lips. "Don't worry, you're not offending me in any way. I'm quite aware of that. I'm doing my best to pay more attention to that."

"I see, then I shall encourage you to do that. Especially if you want to survive here in Edo." He paused, humming in thought. "If I had to put it into words, I'd say you think about yourself too much. You don't look at the big picture."

His words were harsh, but Kagura saw the truth in them. Her shoulders relaxed. "Thank you for being honest with me."

He didn't say anything in reply, but that was alright. They finished their meals in comfortable silence.

* * *

"Since you're still here, can I ask you to help us out with something?" Katsura asked her a few days later.

"Of course." She replied right off the bat, wiping the pearls of sweat from her forehead.

Kagura had offered to do most of the really heavy labour in an attempt to redeem herself – although she wasn't quite sure exactly what she was redeeming herself from.

"There's this pretty big event coming up soon." Katsura began explaining, casually fanning himself. "The Chief of Police is going to hold a public speech in order to appease the general population. There's been a lot of unease going around lately, and the government doesn't want it to spiral out of control."

"Makes sense." Kagura acknowledged. "So what are you planning to do about it?"

"We're going to look for recruits. Upset citizens are bound to attend an event like that. We go in, create some chaos, announce our intentions and back out. Those who are willing to sacrifice themselves for our cause will follow us." Katsura finished calmly.

"How do you plan to make sure there aren't any spies within those recruits?" She inquired with a frown.

"There's an evaluation period for that."

"An evaluation period?"

Katsura nodded elegantly. "We don't let the recruits in on certain secrets until we're sure that we can trust them."

"Ah, I see." Kagura had learned many things about the leader of the opposition over the past few days, but the most prominent facts were that he could stay cool-headed and calm in nearly every situation.

He made good decisions, not even shying away from tactical retreat when necessary.

"Since one of our spies discovered the location some time ago, we've been preparing the explosives for the event. Under the guise of cleaning the building, my men will sneak in and plant said explosives." He paused for a moment, folding his arms in front of his chest and fixating her with a serious look.

"Many of my men probably don't want me telling you all this. They've accepted your presence here, but they don't necessarily trust you. I also don't trust you completely, to be honest. But I trust you enough to know that you don't care about Edo itself."

"Which is why you'll make use of me?" She concluded. Her heart still felt heavy at the thought of being nothing more than a tool, but she could hear the regret in his voice.

"Exactly. We are in a situation where we need to make use of every asset available to us. Both you and me… we are just assets in this big mess."

For some reason, her throat felt dry. Just a few days ago, she would have lashed out at anybody who said such things about her, just as she did the first time she met Shinpachi. But now… now she realized that there were other people in her shoes.

Katsura was willing to turn himself into a tool for his goals.

But what about her?

"It's alright. I understand." She answered. Truthfully, she didn't understand, her heart and her mind conflicted about this. But she wanted to change, to understand.

And towards that goal, she'd put one foot in front of the other, one small step at a time.

* * *

"We'll plant the charges here, here and here. Two on the pillar here, and another two on the pillar here. It'll be enough to create panic, but it won't make the entire building collapse." Yosuke looked up from the blueprint and gave everyone at the table a stern look.

"And remember, we want to avoid hurting innocent civilians as much as possible."

The other men, including Kagura, gave an equally stern nod of confirmation.

She'd never been involved in something of such a grand scale before. Her experience mostly came from messy, brutal encounters with smaller groups of opponents, to the point that the words 'collateral damage' had never even crossed her mind.

She steeled herself. Things were different now. Improvisation and fight reflexes weren't in the foreground anymore, now it was all on group tactics and planning.

Yosuke was a man that Katsura had a lot of faith in. He was a man that many of the men were proud to follow.

"Miss Kagura will be our back-up." He announced, gesturing towards her for those who didn't know who she was. "If push comes to shove, please depend on her."

Another round of murmurs of confirmation went through the room.

Yosuke gave them all an approving smile. "Alright, make sure to eat well tonight. We're leaving before daybreak tomorrow morning."

* * *

"How do you feel about this?" Gintoki asked her that night during dinner. Shinpachi was next to him, nursing a bruise on his forearm.

"I'm not sure yet." She replied. "I don't see any problems with the plan, but my gut feeling…"

"If that's the case… Be careful." The silver-haired man didn't look at her when he said those words, instead focussing on his food, but they held a certain sincerity that made her shoulders less stiff.

"I will." She breathed in response, a soft smile ghosting across her lips.

Somebody tapped a finger on her shoulder, making her turn around.

"Ah, sorry Miss Kagura. The guys and I were wondering whether we could sit with you." The man that spoke had a cheerful smile on his face, gesturing to three others. She recognized them from the meeting earlier. "If you don't mind, of course." He added with a chuckle.

"Sure, go ahead." Gintoki answered for her, getting up. "Pattsuan and I were just about to leave, anyways."

"…I don't mind." She replied once Gintoki and Shinpachi had left.

"Oh, that's great. My name's Nagimasa, by the way." The cheerful one introduced himself as he slid into the chair next to hers. We were hoping we could get to know you a bit before the mission tomorrow." He explained while the others also took their seats.

Kagura had heard people tell her they wanted to get to know her before, but usually it held a lot of impure implications. This time, however, there was a genuine tone to the man's voice.

"These are Midori, Kenichi and Shin." He introduced the other three, who each gave a nod when their names were called.

"Nice to meet you." She responded politely.

"Ah, you're so polite." Midori commented, waving his hand. "There's really no need for that here."

"Loosen up a bit." Kenichi chuckled, taking out the first bottle of sake. "You're almost as stiff as my mother-in-law."

While her father had told her to never accept drinks from strange older men, she found the stress washing off her in their presence.

Kenichi, next to complaining about his mother-in-law, had no shortage of words to share about his beautiful wife and daughter. She could practically smell the love he had for them, and she envied their family for that.

She wondered whether her father ever bragged about her like that. Probably not.

Midori was content with living the single life, taking care of his sickly sister when necessary. He was also quite the lightweight when it came to drinking, which resulted in him being the first to pass out, sprawled across the table.

Shin was the youngest of them all, supporting his aging parents with everything he could. He was visibly tired, but there was a satisfied smile on his face when he also gave in to the alcohol and began snoring away, half hanging off of his chair.

"So, what about your family?" Nagimasa slurred. Like Midori, he also had a family, two sons that were staying with their grandparents for the time being.

Kagura had never known anything about her grandparents.

"It's complicated." She opted to answer.

"But you love each other, right? That's the most important thing." He nodded to himself, taking another sip of sake.

Kagura hesitated. Did they love each other? She thought they did… But she wasn't sure.

"I mean, even Yato need some love in their lives, right?" He chuckled at his own words, lids heavy and falling shut.

His incoherent mumblings turned into soft snores.

Kagura put her hand over her beating heart. Even Yato needed some love? She knew she had emotions, she felt sad, angry and hurt on so many occasions in her life. She could list the entire negative spectrum of emotions and she could pinpoint at least one moment in her life in which she felt each and every one of them.

But what about happiness? The only positive emotion she experienced frequently was relief. Happiness, satisfaction, love – especially love – where not on her list.

Her fingers clutched the fabric of her dress. What was love?

* * *

Pushing those thoughts out of her head the next morning, she put on some fresh clothes, bandaged the exposed skin, slung her cloak over her shoulders and put on her goggles.

The other men, including Yosuke, Midori, Nagimasa, Kenichi and Shin, were already dressed in matching garb and sorting the explosives.

"Are you ready?" Yosuke asks into the round.

A chorus of "yes" followed.

He nodded, a smile on his face. "Alright. Remember, we are doing this for the country we love, for the city we want to protect."

Another chorus of shouts followed.

* * *

Kagura hid in the dark alley next to the venue. Yosuke and the others had already infiltrated the building, mingling with the other workers. The first civilians were already streaming in as the sun rose higher and higher into the blue sky.

It was the worst kind of day for her kind, the bright sunlight illuminating the streets.

A few hours later, they were rallied up in the alley. "All charges are in place. Now we just have to wait for the speech to begin." Yosuke confirmed.

Soon enough, a man escorted by two others, clad in black uniforms, entered the venue.

"That's him, Isao Kondou." Midori remarked, gesturing towards the man. "Chief of the Shinsengumi."

"Shinsengumi? They're some kind of special force, right?" Kagura asked, her eyes trailing after the man's tall form.

"Yes, they are in charge of taking care of the government's greatest enemies – in other words, us."

"They're nothing to sneeze at, which is why we'll have to be careful when we go in." Yosuke explained, gently pulling the two of them further into the shadows of the alley.

"Ten minutes." He added, "We'll go in in ten minutes. We'll interrupt the speech and take control of the stage, announce our purpose and then Kenichi and Nagimasa will detonate the explosives on the pillars."

The two in question nodded with serious expressions.

* * *

Each second felt like a minute, each minute felt like an hour… Kagura wouldn't peg herself as the impatient type, but she had to admit that she was sweating buckets at the moment.

The explosions should have gone off by now.

She gnawed her bottom lip. She was the back-up, they were relying on her. But was she over-reacting? It's only been a few minutes, after all.

She let out a low groan.

In fighting terms, a few minutes meant everything. But when it came to missions like these, it was to be expected that not everything would happen as expected.

There were too many factors of chaos to ever be able to predict something like this.

Another bead of sweat left her forehead, instantly absorbed by her bandages, which were soaked by now.

It was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

She gritted her teeth. They entrusted this task to her, but if she stepped in now, would it mean that she had no faith in their abilities?

She should have asked Yosuke for more advice in advance.

Gulping, she ran multiple scenarios through her head. Were they intercepted by the Shinsengumi? Were they held up by the crowd? Were the explosives malfunctioning?

She let out a shaky breath. In the same moment, a loud explosion filled the venue, followed by many screams and cries.

People poured out of the doors in masses, pushing and pulling, each one trying to save themselves.

Midori was the first to meet up with her. "There was an enchanter." He explained, exhaustedly. "Yosuke and the others should be joining us soon."

Kagura sighed in relief. "I see."

The others trickled in one after the other, until eventually Yosuke came, a large gash running down his arm. "Kenichi and Nagimasa are still inside. They… the explosion didn't go off as planned." He informed them solemnly.

Midori grimaced, but didn't say anything.

"What do we do?" Kagura asked.

Yosuke pulled his lips into a tight line. "We retreat."

A soft round of mutters went through the group, but nobody spoke up against the order.

Kagura nodded, agreeing with the conclusion.

They all turned to leave the alley, when an image of a little girl flashed through her mind, waiting for her father to come home.

Her steps stopped abruptly, her heart hammering in her chest.

Kenichi talking about his daughter with that proud smile on his face.

She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Miss Kagura?" One of the men asked.

Nagimasa also had two little boys. Would she take their father from them?

Her breathing grew irregular. "Dammit." She hissed underneath her breath, spinning on her heel.

"I'm your back-up, please depend on me." She announced before rushing towards the building.

Ignoring the shouts from behind her, she pushed past the men at the entrance, knocking out the guards with an effective blow to the stomach.

The flames were licking at her cloak, but she went on, through the fire. There was a ringing in her ears, panicked screams blending in with the creaking of burning wood.

Smoke rose all around her, obscuring her vision from the blinding orange flames.

They had to be somewhere here, they just had to be…

It was getting harder to breathe.

Dammit, where were they?

Desperately recalling the blueprint of the building and retracing her steps mentally, she headed in the direction where the pillars in question should have been.

A cough escaped her mouth, to which she just pressed her cloak further into her face.

Kenichi and Nagimasa were somewhere here… somewhere…

* * *

When asked afterwards, she didn't remember exactly what happened. All she could recall was the bright, bright flames and the sound of Kenichi and Nagimasa coughing.

The weight of them on her back as she carried them out.

The impact of her foot against the chest of the unfortunate officer who encountered her.

The magic circle. The magic circle that so innocently tampered with the explosive charges they planted there.

And that awful, horrible stench of magic that made her want to throw up.

* * *

"You were reckless." Katsura said disapprovingly.

"I know, but it'll heal up soon enough. Give it an hour or two."

"You had no obligation to save them, you know? We do this fully prepared to die for our cause." Katsura told her sombrely, eyeing the bright pink burn mark on her arm.

"I… know." She answered, head lowered. "I… I just…"

"It doesn't matter why." Katsura put his hand on her uninjured shoulder and gifted her a small smile. "Thank you."

Her heart flared at the gratitude in his voice and she felt like crying. Crying because the walls around her heart were finally completely broken down by two measly words.

Gintoki welcoming her had loosened the chains, but Katsura's unconditional gratitude had made everything crumble into dust.

It was a shocking realization, that for the first time, she didn't do something because it benefitted her. She did something because it benefitted somebody else, even if it put her in a tight spot.

Katsura didn't say anything as a sob escaped her lips and she wrapped her uninjured arm around his midriff, he only gently stroked her hair as her tears soaked into his haori.

And in that moment, Kagura wished that her father would have done this for her at least once.

* * *

Mixing into the crowd during the chaos, he caught on to the loud announcement of the opposition member.

In the cacophony of panicked screams and shouts, Okita pushed himself through, along with a few other men, trying to reach the meeting point.

It was a harsh trip through rough terrain, after which he finally arrived at the clearing in question.

The man who met them there was the same man who made the announcement at Chief Kondou's speech. He introduced himself as Yosuke.

Yosuke led them through complicated forest paths, through a cave entrance into a large, underground facility.

He had to admit, it was rather impressive, and he had no way of knowing how much further the system expanded. On the other hand, it was also extremely easy for him to infiltrate the base. Why hadn't anybody else managed to do it yet?

Hijikata had said something about magic, but there was nothing hinting at that anywhere. No runes, no maniacs, no nothing.

It was almost like one big no-magic zone. But he wasn't going to let himself be fooled. If it was this easy so far, then there had to be something he hadn't seen yet.

And then he saw it. Okita nearly screamed out loud when he spotted a long vermillion braid in the distance. But only nearly. Taking a deep breath, he composed himself.

He watched the cloaked figure interact with a few of the men in the base, accepting something from one of them.

What the hell was Smug Face doing here?

Smug Face disappeared around a corner, and Okita followed discreetly. The members of the opposition were awfully lax around their new recruits, making the task much easier than anticipated.

Once he was sure it was only the two of them in the tunnel, he sped up and grabbed the Yato by its shoulders, slamming it against the wall.

"What the fuck are you doing here? Is this a fucking joke to you?" He hissed angrily, glaring at the pair of blue eyes.

The pair of blue eyes that were slightly rounder than he remembered. Now that he thought about, this person was also quite a bit shorter than the commander of the seventh division.

"Do I know you?" A clearly female voice asked him, unimpressed. She blinked at him before raising a brow at him.

He was still staring at her dumbfounded. "Who are you?" He whispered in disbelief.

"If I haven't introduced myself to you, then it's clearly none of your business." She answered coldly, pushing him off of herself.

He snorted. "Don't kid around. You look exactly like him."

At that, she spun around to face him. "Exactly like who?"

Okita bit down on his tongue once he realized he was about to give up precious information. His mind ran through all the possibilities, trying to figure out the best option.

This time, he was shoved against the wall by the shorter female. "Answer my question, and I won't give you to Katsura with a bow wrapped around your unconscious body."

There was a certain desperation to her voice, but when he didn't answer for a few seconds, her hold on him slackened. "It doesn't matter." She sighed. "It's Kamui, isn't it?"

Okita remained silent, but his mind was reeling. A relative? Probably a sister or a cousin.

"Look," She said, letting him go. "Despite how things seem, I'm willing to make a deal with you."


End file.
